Iwoke with a gasp.
My eyes fluttered open, pain pounding through my head, my shoulders, my chest. I thrashed my torso back and forth, then sucked in a breath as spasms tore through me.
My arms had been wretched backward and strung up by a pair of cuffs, my entire body now hanging limp from the chains. But that discomfort was secondary to whatever Scarven had injected me with. It was like someone had shoved a dagger into the side of my neck. The spot radiated heat, pulsing down into my chest like a white-hot brand.
Dragging my legs along the ground, I tried to get to my feet and take some of the strain off my shoulders. I could barely support myself. My muscles felt as if they’d been beaten to a pulp and left as noodles.
It was safe to say the mission was compromised.
Terror gripped me, sluggish at first as my mind tried to catch up with what had happened. Scarven knew I was spying on him,andthat I was working with Nox. Did he know about the Keep?
I let out a ragged sob as visions of what he might do to all of them raced across my mind.
It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault.
My chance to do something good, to prove myself, and I’d messed everything up.
I took in my surroundings. I was in a stone cell with iron bars allowing me a view of the dark hallway outside. If I listened closely, I could hear echoes of groans and footsteps from further down.
A shadow appeared outside the iron bars, one I’d begun to recognize easily.
“Look who’s finally awake.” Scarven’s voice slithered over me as he turned a key in the padlock and slipped inside the cell. One of his masked lackeys followed close on his heels.
I steeled my nerves and stood straighter, shoving away the fear. Hewantedme to be scared. He wanted to break me down piece by piece until I was trembling at his feet, like every other person he forced beneath him.
Well, I wasn’t like every other person. And I’ddiebefore I kneeled for this man.
“Look who’s finally figured it out,” I said between grunts as I struggled against the chains.
Scarven drew nearer with a chuckle. “Ah, the little lamb has sharp teeth. That was what I liked most about Miss Nyte. Although, I suppose it’s Devora now, isn’t it?”
I swallowed but stayed silent, holding his gaze.
He narrowed his eyes and lashed out a hand. His fingers wrapped around my throat, his thumb digging into the injection site wound. Before I could control it, a scream slipped from my lips.
“You thought you were so clever,” he whispered, hot breath filling my ear. “You and Nox both. Sneaking around my house like a rat, thinking I wouldn’t smell your deception. But you made a mistake, didn’t you, love?” He ran his nose along my chin until he reached the other side of my face. “That night at my stables when you left your cloak. The destruction had my brother written all over it. He never could control that temper of his.”
He had known all this time. It had just been another game to him. Showing me Vera whileknowingI was working with Nox, letting me see what he was doing to all those innocent people, flaunting his torture in my face.
I let out a whimper when he pressed into the sore spot on my neck again. “He will soon learn that he cannot take what ismine.”
“I wasneveryours,” I croaked out between ragged breaths.
He hummed, then raised two fingers in the air and summoned the silent guard into the room. “Still snapping, even in chains. I wonder how long that spirit of yours will last after I’m through with you.” Releasing his grip on my throat, he raised an eyebrow. “Or perhaps you could simply tell me what my brother is up to. You don’t need to suffer. Not if you give me what I want.”
I took in lungfuls of air, struggling to stay upright as I rasped, “What makes you think I would give you anything?”
Scarven shared a look with the masked guard, and before I could blink, the guard slapped me so hard across the cheek that my head banged into the wall behind me. A ringing formed low in my ears, my cheek pounding as blood filled my mouth.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Shadow Wielder,” Scarven said.
I spat blood at his feet.
He sighed. “The hard way, then.” He motioned to the guard again, who quickly left the cell.
My heart raced. I could only guess what was coming. “Why didn’t you just kill me?” I asked. “If you knew I was lying, why let me keep going? Why let me stay in your home?”
“Keep your enemies close, they say,” he mused. “And why should I deny myself the pleasures of your company, Devora?” He stepped closer and ran a hand along my neck, leisurely stroking down my chest and hips until he grabbed my backside. When he yanked me against him, I cried out as the chains bit into my arms.
